Theoretically, you could be walking down a Denver street tomorrow and encounter someone with a pit bull. You might even run into them at a place of business.

And it would all be perfectly legal.

That seems to be the upshot of the latest twist in the controversy over the Mile High City’s 22-year-old ban on the presence of pit bulls within city limits.

That twist came in late April, when Doug Kelley, director of animal care and control, filed an affidavit in federal court stating that the city will not prevent use of the breed for service dog work within the city’s jurisdiction.

That much the sides seem to agree on. Beyond that, the latest developments involving Denver’s BSL (breed-specific legislation) break down into a dispute over who did what, when they did it and what it means.

It could all be dismissed as an arcane quarrel except that the implications for the average metro area resident are very real:

In March, a new provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act took effect. It guarantees the right of disabled people to use pit bulls as service dogs. The Denver City Council has declined to amend its BSL
ordinance, however. That would appear to put the city on a collision course with the enforcement agency, the federal Department of Justice.

The Animal Law Center, based in Wheat Ridge, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city (and Aurora) on behalf of four plaintiffs – three disabled people and Shorty Rossi, star of the Animal Planet channel’s program “Pit Boss.” If the center wins, will the cash-strapped cities have to come up with a financial settlement?

There appears to be continuing public concern about having pit bulls back in the city, based on polls taken by city council members. If pit bull service dogs are allowed you could, in the words of Council member Charlie Brown, find one sitting at the table next to yours at your favorite restaurant. (Whether or not that would pose is danger is hotly disputed.)

What happens in Denver does not happen in a vacuum. Some speculate that neighboring Aurora adopted its own BSL as a defensive move to keep Denver’s pit bulls from flooding into their city. The latter is exactly what has happened in cities north and south of Denver, where local shelters house a substantial number of the breed.

Waiting lists of disabled people hoping to get service dogs grow longer. It takes thousands of dollars and months of work to produce a single trained dog. Everyone seems to agree that pit bulls are strong, athletic animals. Supporters say the dogs have a great affinity for humans. Could all those animals sitting in shelters outside Denver fill a need?

To some, perhaps the most surprising thing about the latest developments is that Kelley says Denver animal control has been following the policy spelled out in the affidavit for some time.

“Actually it’s the the same policy we’ve been following forever,” he told Fetch. “We just put it in writing.”

He said the city council was well aware of the unwritten policy when it was debating the ADA changes last year. “They just didn’t want to change the (1989 BSL) ordinance. Our policy has nothing to do with the ordinance.”

Jennifer Edwards, a lawyer and founder of the Animal Law Center, doesn’t buy it.

“If so why would there be all this commotion, lawsuits?” Edwards said. “It was never animal control’s policy. Doug needs to be called out.”

She added: “I think they have their backs against the wall. They want to get out of liability’s way.”

Kelley shot back: “It certainly was in place and she knows that.”

When asked why it took so long to put the policy in writing, Kelley said, “The city just wanted to make sure that people were aware they could have a pit bull as a service dog.”

He said the city also wanted to make sure that people don’t abuse the service dog rule. The policy has a mechanism to check out questionable claims that a pit bull fills a service need; the new ADA policy does not.

Edwards said the written policy submitted by Kelley is a good step forward but doesn’t address all the law center’s concerns.

Meanwhile, people all over the country interested in the pit bull issue will be closely monitoring what happens in Denver.

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ANIMAL TRACKS – Based on an analysis of half a million dog names, Veterinary Pet Insurance says an increasing trend has dogs being given human-oriented names. Showing an overwhelming amount of names that also double as popular human names, the top ten dog names of 2010 were: Bella, Baily, Max, Lucy, Molly, Buddy, Maggie, Daisy, Charlie and Sophie.

Some of the most bizarre dog names that were seen in 2010 included Pickles Von Corndog, Dog Vader and Flopsy Squeakerton.

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PET CALENDARLarimer Humane Society is seeking additional volunteers for its foster program. Foster care volunteers provide temporary care and shelter in their homes for animals that are underage, sick, injured or under-socialized so that they may become healthy, adoptable animals. A special “foster-only” volunteer orientation is scheduled for Thursday, May 12 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Larimer Humane Society shelter.

The Longmont Humane Society hopes to raise more than $50,000 for homeless pets through “Ella’s Walk: In Memory of Meredith Hope Emerson ” and the “Furry Friends Festival.” The day begins at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. Registration for the event is free; however, a $10 registration donation is encouraged to help offset the cost of the event.

Schrader’s Country Store has teamed up with Denkai Animal Sanctuary. Pennies for Pooches containers are located at all Colorado Schraders locations through May 31. The goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000 during the month of May.

Denver’s Cat Care Society is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with the “Tails of the Painted Cats” art event, showcasing 16 local artists who have painted a large fiberglass cat with a special theme — Carousel
Cat, Tutan-KHAT-mun, Georgia O’Kitty and more. To see all of them, the Painted Cat Gallery is found at:http://www.catcaresociety.org/paintedcatsgallery.html. On June 5, the Painted Cats will be auctioned at a Dinner/Auction Gala at Green Gables Country Club. Tickets for the Gala are $75 each.

Botanic Bow Wow, Denver Botanic Gardens’ event geared toward dogs and their owners, will be held May 21. This dog-centric affair features pet-friendly vendors, informational booths and treat stations.
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And lastly, a personal note. I’ve always thought it was a bit much for writers to use their public platform to lament the loss of a cherished pet. Not today. This day, Mother’s Day 2011, my 13-year-old Pekingese dog, Ling, had to be put down because he was disabled by arthritis and had lost normal bodily functions. He was a good dog, a game and courageous little guy. I will miss his companionship. Please, give your dog a pet or a hug in his memory.

Is lying going to be Kelly’s defense in the upcoming lawsuits? Is he going to claim that Denver has always allowed pit bull service dogs, and it was only out of control ACO’s that went after the plaintiffs and their dogs.. which is the reason for the lawsuit? Does he have any actual, you know, DOCUMENTATION, that Denver has always had the “allow pit bull service dog” policy…even as the Denver City Council members ranted about NEVER allowing them, and fighting the DoJ on the ADA regs??? I guess now the plaintiffs lawyers will be calling Charlie Brown to the stand…

Hm, when was Shorti Rossi added to the class-action lawsuit? Thats news to us. As for Denver… the bottom line is THEY CAN NOT enforce the pit bull ban any longer… with this Service dog loop hole “in place”. More so… the city of Denver is notorious for not even following their own laws. In 2009, the city was court ordered to amend their ban to allow for transport through the city, yet did not change the verbiage of their ordinance until 2010… and still MIGHT confiscate a travelers pit bull and then make them jump through hoops to get their dog back and be on their way. FEDERAL LAW states that a disabled person DOES NOT NEED TO VERIFY what their disability is … yet the city has every intention of exercising that line of questioning and is inked for more lawsuits in the future. The day that the Denver Metro area and its citizens call the city of Denver on the carpet for their BS is the day the community will get just that much better.
Here are the nuts and bolts- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8KpmqX1yYE

What I find interesting about this ban is that the city of Denver has any right at all to remove a well-loved pet from ANYONE’S home…. Shades of the Nazi’s…. I recently watched Pitt Boss, and am still heartbroken over a pitt taken from a Denver home with young children who obviously loved this dog with all of their hearts..Now this well loved dog will sit in a kennel for years, if not forever, wondering where it’s family and love have gone…The amazing thing is that no one even knew of a ban coming their way until these dogs were removed. I can’t tell you enough of the pain and suffering caused in these homes…There are some horrible people who abuse and misuse these dogs in this world, and they should be dealt with by harsher punishment than that given to michael vicks, who went right back to making millions after what he did. i could see people being made to register and train them properly, but really, give up your beloved pet, REALLY?????

This ban really makes me think of rasism and segragation. If you would’nt hate somone because of there skin color then dont hate a dog because of its breed. And it dosnt always depend on how a dog is raised on weather or not its nice because all of michael vick’s dogs were fighting pitbulls and all but 1 out of 50 were rehomed and some were thearapy dogs.

Can you imagine how things would be if Denver spent that money on working with pet owners, having spay and neuter clinics, dog ownership education, obedience classes instead of fighting las suits and maintaning an expensive BSL law. Their bite incidents would decrease as well as the intake of strays into the shelter.

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